How to tell if two population averages are actually different from each other
In short: Determining if a difference between two sample means is significant can be tricky. This video explains a practical statistical method using the Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD) to assess whether observed differences are meaningful.
To evaluate if two sample means are meaningfully distinct, statisticians compare the gap between those means against the spread of the data. Specifically, this method involves calculating whether the difference between the two means is at least twice the size of the larger Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD) of the samples.
This approach provides a clearer picture of whether a variation is likely due to genuine differences between populations or simply the result of random sampling variability.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Comparing populations using MAD | 7th grade math (IM® v.360 aligned) | Khan Academy
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